The present invention relates, in general, to improvements in audio-visual display systems and more particularly to systems and methods forthe teaching and testing of students wherein the display of visual information is coordinated with related audio information in the form of voice narration to provide structured teaching of material and testing of student progress. The system and method further includes automatic revision of the teaching sequence through branching and/or repetition in response to student progress.
With the advent of the microprocessor and related peripheral equipment for supplying data to such processors and for utilizing the information produced thereby in the form of visual displays, the field of audio-visual teaching systems has expanded rapidly to the point where relatively inexpensive systems are becoming widely available. The lightweight, portable, easy-to-use machines now becoming available are in great demand for use with the educationally disadvantaged, particularly in developing countries. However, the systems available to date have not been entirely satisfactory for such uses, since they tend to be overly complex and often are of uncertain reliability. Further, many such devices are developed essentially for use as games and for entertainment purposes, and do not take full advantage of the capability of such devices for providing significant educational advantages.
In order to maximize the usefulness of an audio-visual system in the teaching process, it is necessary to provide a continuing check on the progress of the student and to provide variations in or repetition of the teaching steps as needed by the individual student, rather than as preprogrammed by a remote and unknowing programmer. Thus, the microprocessor systems and home computer systems that might otherwise be useful in teaching, but which instead are designed primarily for entertainment, do not meet the real needs of students who, for example, cannot read or write, or who have no idea how to operate a computer.
Although presently existing systems are extremely useful and in many respects have been very successful, they have not met the needs of the disadvantaged. One system designed for this latter purpose is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 352,917 of Frank W. Ferguson et al, filed Feb. 26, 1982, entitled "Improved Audio-Visual Teaching Machine and Control System Therefor", which application is assigned to the assignee of the present application. In that application a system is disclosed for recording audio information on a storage medium, which information includes both control data and voice narration. In the preferred form of that invention, the control data is interspersed between narration segments so that each section, or chapter, of the information on the storage medium incorporates data and accompanying narration, both relating to specific corresponding visual displays. Although the system described in that application works extremely well, it has been found to have some limitations in its adaption to "state of the art" audio and optical equipment.